1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for mounting a diode in a microwave circuit and, more particularly, in a microwave circuit in which the mounting provides for electrical contact between the diode and the circuit and for heat dissipation from the diode to a heat sink.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Diodes mounted in microwave circuits require one terminal to make electrical contact with the circuit and the other terminal to make electrical contact with the ground plane. For this reason, some diodes are bonded to the circuit line with wires or ribbon to ensure electrical contact. The circuit line is broken to receive the diode prior to bonding. Dimensional tolerances of the wire or ribbon and the integrity of the bond affect the direct connection between the diode and circuit line introducing thereby parasitics or undesirable inductances reducing the RF efficiency of the circuit. High-power diodes in a microstrip circuit require the effective dissipation of heat for desirable circuit performance. To achieve a good thermal path from the diode to a heat sink, the diode is mounted on a support which is threadably engaged to the heat sink. This mounting serves also as the contact of the other diode terminal to ground. Small contact areas between the diode support and heat sink will produce large thermal gradients resulting in degradation of circuit performance and reduction of life span. The mounting procedure of bonding wires or ribbon to the circuit line and screwing the diode support to the heat sink or ground hinders replaceability of the diode and limits the physical size of the diode to a closely toleranced dimension.